Memorial Day Weekend in New York, NY

Memorial Day is an ideal time to visit New York City as the weather is usually good and many of the city's residents leave NYC to go to the beach.

Good weather, no crowds and endless things to do? Why would you not go? You can kick off the weekend on Friday by getting up early to see a free concert at Rockefeller Center hosted by the Today Show or Good Morning America. Both shows host free concerts on certain days all summer that are totally open to the public. You might even get on TV! During the weekend, you can get patriotic and enjoy the Fleet Week activities in the city - Fleet Week is a week-long event where the U.S. Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard come to New York to give ship tours and demonstrations. On Memorial Day Monday there is a commemoration on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid, which is open to the public.

If you'd like to take in some art over the weekend, you can check out the outdoor Washington Square Park Art Exhibit in Greenwich Village, watch free movie screenings at a new green space in Times Square, or go uptown to attend the Cloisters Family Festival, where kids and adults can explore medieval art. The New York Philharmonic also holds a free first-come, first-served concert every Memorial Day weekend at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Want to see a parade? Manhattan pulls out the big guns for Veterans' Day, but each borough - the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island - holds a Memorial Day parade that will let you see the more neighborhood side of New York City.